Cardiac Device Clinic

What’s a Cardiac Device?

If you have a heart arrhythmia, your doctor may decide you need a cardiac device to correct your irregular heartbeat. A cardiac device is usually considered when other treatments do not work. 

Your doctor will surgically insert a small electrical device, such as a pacemaker, under the skin of your chest or abdomen. This device sends electrical pulses to restore normal heart rhythm.

Types of Cardiac Devices

Your cardiac device may be a:

• Pacemaker – Small, wireless device attached to the heart to control a slow heartbeat and keep it beating at a normal rate
• Biventricular pacemaker – Pacemaker with a third wire to send impulses to the heart to synchronize the lower-left chambers (ventricles)
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) – Device that delivers an electrical impulse to return a fast heartbeat (ventricular arrhythmia) to a regular heartbeat
• Loop recorder – Wireless cardiac device that records your heart rhythm

Follow-Up Care & Device Checks

With long-term care and monitoring from AnMed, you can enjoy continued heart health after you get an implanted device. Your electrophysiologist (arrhythmia specialist) and cardiologist can learn valuable information about your heart and device functioning during follow-up visits to the Cardiac Device Clinic.

Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are extremely reliable medical devices. Still, it’s important to have your devices checked regularly or monitored at home via wireless data transmission to the clinic. Talk to your doctor about how often you need to come in.

What to Expect at Your Visit

Specially trained device technicians at AnMed gather stored information from your device electronically. An EP will evaluate the data. Depending on the findings and symptoms you report, your EP may adjust how your device works. We make most device adjustments during your appointment.